


To Russia, with love.

by respoftw



Category: Stargate Atlantis
Genre: Established Relationship, Kinda, M/M, Pre-Canon
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-06-02
Updated: 2017-06-02
Packaged: 2018-11-08 05:07:34
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,202
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11074671
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/respoftw/pseuds/respoftw
Summary: Rodney has someone to say goodbye to before he leaves for Russia.





	To Russia, with love.

**Author's Note:**

> Hey, look who finally watched Rodney's first SG1 appearance!

The sound of Rodney's front door slamming closed woke John up from a sweaty, mid-afternoon nap. He lay there for a moment, half-expecting Rodney to come walking into the bedroom to pick up where they had left off before they were so rudely interrupted a few days ago, but the sound of cupboard doors slamming and something breakable hitting the wall told him that wasn't going to happen.

John scratched idly at the hair on his belly as he shifted to a sitting position, blinking the sleep out of his eyes. Reaching over Newton, Rodney's still sleeping cat, he grabbed the nearest t-shirt and pulled it over his head before making his way towards the familiar cursing coming from the living room.

Rodney's living room, which had been military neat when John had went for his nap an hour before, was in disarray now as Rodney paced back and forth, adding things - mostly electronic equipment and DVDs - to an open canvas bag seemingly at random.

John leaned against the doorframe and watched, trying to figure out what the hell was going on. It wasn't long before Rodney noticed him, freezing stock still with season one of The Next Generation in one hand and a laptop battery in the other.

"You're still - - I thought you'd be..". Rodney's eyes were wide as he stammered incomplete sentences. Swallowing hard, he took a step towards John. "You waited for me."

Newton chose that moment to squeeze past John's legs, mewling pitifully for his owners attention.

"Were you napping with my cat?" Rodney asked, incredulously. "Oh God, you were. You were napping with my cat and - Jesus - you're wearing my t-shirt and - - John, I really screwed up." Rodney collapsed back on to empty cushion of the couch, next to the still unexplained open bag, and dropped his DVD and laptop battery to pick up Newton, cradling the still mewling cat to him like he'd never see him again. John was starting to get a very bad feeling about all this.

"Rodney? Buddy? You didn't screw up. These things happen, I know that. How many times have I had to cancel our plans because of orders. I've still got two days before I ship back out, we can - -"

Rodney half-laughed, half-sobbed, startling Newton who jumped off his lap with a distempered meow and disappeared back into the bedroom. "You might have two days but my plane leaves in eight hours."

"Plane? Plane to where? What the hell, Rodney, you're a civilian. They can't - -"

"A civilian who's on the payroll of the United States Air Force," Rodney interrupted flatly. "A civilian who made the wrong first impression on the wrong person at the wrong time and - " he smiled sadly at John "- why can't everyone be charmed by my terrible social skills like you were."

John huffed a laugh, using the brief bit of levity to move closer and crouch down next to the couch where Rodney's hands were shaking more and more with every passing second. "I was eighteen," he teased. "And you managed to insult me five times when all I did was ask for directions to the library. What's not to be charmed by?"

"How about ripping an Air Force Major's past work to pieces within ten seconds of meeting her, telling the same Major that there was no point even trying to help her friend as he was likely already dead and then hitting on her by calling her a dumb blonde?"

"What, all at the same time?" It was a weak joke and John knew it but he was starting to suspect that Rodney wasn't exaggerating just how much he'd screwed up.

"Oh, and it probably didn't help that the Colonel who brought me in on the project ended up being arrested for working with the G- - for treason."

John closed his eyes and breathed deep. Yeah. Definitely screwed. "Where are they sending you?" he asked. Wherever it was, they'd make it work. They'd made it work for years, since John's freshman year of college, through AFROTC assignments, John's first commission, Rodney's move to Nevada. They'd make it through thi- -

"Russia."

Fuck.

"They wanted to send me straight there, told me my plane left in an hour but I managed to convince them that I needed time, that I had a life, that I - - I was going to call you and tell you. I couldn't just leave without...."

Rodney trailed off and John couldn't bear it, leaning over to cup his chin tenderly. "Hey. Enough of that. I never thought you were just going to skip out on me. I know you, Rodney. I know that you probably didn't mean half of what you said to that Major. I know that you were probably nervous to meet the person whose work you've been studying for the past year. I know that you were stupidly spooked about the Air Force calling you in on a consult while you had a Major in your bed. I know that you wouldn't have told them their friend was really dead if you didn't believe it."

"He wasn't," Rodney admitted.

John smiled. "Yeah, well, I also know that, despite what you claim, you aren't always right."

"I screwed up."

"Yeah, buddy. You did. But, you know what? So did they. By not looking deeper. By sending you away. So, what you gotta do is, you gotta take that assignment in Russia and make them realise that they need you and that they just traded away the best damn physicist they have."

Rodney shifted on the couch, turning to look at John with wide, blue eyes. "You're not going to tell me to quit? To refuse? Why?"

John shook his head. "I'm guessing for the same reason that you don't tell me to quit every time the Air Force sends me into combat."

"I could never take the sky from you."

"I know. And I love you for that. And I might not know what exactly it is that you're working on, but I know that it's your sky and," John shrugged, "I never knew how hard it was for you not to ask but...I get it now."

Rodney leaned into John's arms, his eyes suspiciously bright. "But, Russia. I mean, it's not just Russia, it's _Siberia_. When will we be able to...how will we.."

"You're not going to be in Russia forever. I'm not going to be in Afghanistan forever. This isn't the end of anything. It might even be the beginning of something better."

" _Russia_ ," Rodney said again with a glare.

John laughed, dropping a kiss on Rodney's head. A glaring Rodney was a Rodney that was going to be fine.

"Dumb jock," Rodney dropped the glare and smiled fondly, despite himself.

John grinned. "I believe that was insult number three of our first conversation, after the comment about my hair and the insinuation that the reason I was lost was because I was looking for the community college two towns over. C'mon, I'll help you pack and that'll leave us with at least six hours to say goodbye properly. And make you forget all about that other Major."

He succeeded.

At least for a little while.


End file.
